Whole 30 month: Day 7 & 8

Ok…I really gotta stop doing these posts every other day because this month is getting so routine that I’m starting to forget what I’ve eaten for breakfast. 😀

Wondering about the title of today’s blog? Read more to find out!

So, first off, let me tell you what foods I miss…nothing. I’ll caveat this with the note that I’m not exposed to a lot of foods I could want right now. When I do see someone (coughcoughMaxcoughcough) post a pic of their delish homemade Mac’n’Cheese, I did get a twinge of sadness but scrolled quickly by.

Also, the woman at the grocery store did mention licorice today and I had a quick fantasy about Wallaby black licorice, but it went away. I think this lack of craving has to do with the variety of foods we can eat on W30 and the fact that they are TASTY.

When I have a hankerin’ for a flavor/texture, I’ve got it covered. W30 can do salt, sweet, creamy, crunchy, chewy…The only texture I haven’t found is that of actual cheese. So not a bad track record!

Also, I’m loving the increase in veggies in my diet. It’s really something I wanted to do more of anyway but it’s easy to slack. I once had a professional trainer tell me that the ideal # of servings of veggies per day is 12 servings**. No joke.

**A serving is 1 c. of veggies, 1/2 c. greens

He said the typical is 2-3 per day, and even if you can increase your amount to 5-7 you’re doing better than most people. So…eat them veggies people. No excuses!!

The TLDR Version

We had some food adventures because it was the weekend, so included with our two dinners was a fun breakfast. For the recipes see below. Read the Whole (30) Story for reviews and alterations!

Sunday Breakfast

Sunday Dinner

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Monday Dinner

The Whole (30) Story

Day 7 (Jan 16)

Sunday we got extra adventurous and tried to make waffles out of sweet potatoes. The results were mixed.

1. They didn’t stay together like they were supposed to
2. The char marks on them were a kinda weird flavor (according to Amanda Gleeson. I didn’t notice b/c I slathered mine in hollandaise)

Because of these issues, we didn’t end up making sammies, but instead did more like sweet potato eggs benedict. I made “hollandaise” with our homemade mayo by thinning it down with lemon juice & water and adding pepper/rosemary (Eric wasn’t eating with us).

However, this made it pretty damn tasty and packed a ton of veggies into a breakfast…which is usually the hardest meal to add veggies to. Next time, we may do a combination of mashed & shredded sweet potatoes and just pan fry them like our normal potato pancakes. However 9/10 would eat again.

For dinner it was a good friend’s bday so we went all out. Adapting James’ famous Beef and Carrot Tagine recipe and making fancy mocktails & dessert parfaits.

For dinner, we subbed ghee for butter and left out cheese. Serving it over cauliflower rice takes care of the flavor sponge part. This is always a winner in terms of recipes, so if you haven’t made it yet…do it! Add a tasty salad with avocado and you’ve got a bomb meal!

Our mocktails were coconut seltzer and muddled raspberries. We even used my llama wine glass markers so they can get some love!

The parfait was something we made up and while some people may say it’s not in the “spirit” of W30 because it’s an indulgence, I’m calling bullshit b/c it’s compliant. Also, what’s wrong with having an indulgence? Life is shitty and sometimes the only thing you can look forward to is a tasty snack or meal. IMO, as long as you’re being responsible about these things, then I say eat the tasty stuff!

Also, we discovered that there are at least 3 brands that make W30 compliant sauces. Sure, we could make our own, but if I can buy a bottle for $4 and not have to worry about it, sometimes that’s better. However, since you need $35 to get free delivery on an order from Whole Foods…we have a bunch now. The brands are:

• Tessemae’s
• Primal Kitchen
• Noble Made

Day 8 (Jan 18)

Eric made more egg bites in his sous vide and (yet again) forgot to spray them. This is why we can’t have nice things…

For breakfast, I was taken back to my childhood when I made almond butter “ants on a log”. (Also, can I just say that my mom didn’t know what those are. Sometimes I wonder about the people who raised me….). Also, apparently, feeding kids “healthy diets” also applies to grown-ass 30-somethings. My kindergarten teacher, “Miss Jessie,” is probably laughing her ass off from beyond the grave right now…Maybe I’ve finally made her proud! 🙂

Also, our “Greek chicken” recipe was pretty much souvlaki because it’s cooked on skewers AND is Greek. Except it didn’t have the tzaziki, pita, or the correct traditional spices……..

Well, whatever it is officially called, we ate it over a crazy good salad that included:

• Lettuce
• Power Greens
• Sun-dried tomators
• Kalamata Olives
• Artichoke ♥s
• Pepperoncini
• Green Pepper
• Roasted Red Pepper
• Lemon/Red Wine vinaigrette

I, for one, am feeling pretty great. Not deathly hungry, not crapping my pants…you know, life is good! They say our hardest days are yet to come, so I’m curious to see what those will be like. You know they say some like it hard……

The Menu

Day 7

• Breakfast
• Sweet potato eggs benedict w/ sauteed greens
• W30 Compliant Bacon

• Lunch/Snacks
• Pistachios
• Dried watermelon**
• Dried Cauliflower
• Pumpkin seeds

• Dinner
• Beef & Carrot Tagine
• Salad w/ avocado
• Riced Cauliflower
• Berry parfait
• Coconut mocktail

**or as Eric says “Watermelon that you hunted down, butchered, then turned it’s flesh into a snack”

Day 8

• Breakfast
• Egg cup (black olives, sausage, sun-dried tomators)
• Ants on a log (celery, almond butter, raisins)
• Mandarin fruit cup in 100% juice

• Lunch
• Epic beef stick
• Dried cauliflower
• Hint Raspberry Water

• Dinner
• Greek Chicken skewers
• Salad w/ avocado